Bumblebee Gobies

pik01

pik01

AC Members
Sep 28, 2008
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San Jose, California
I've been researching bumblebee gobies and I've read that 5 is a good number for a 10g species tank. The only issue is that I have gotten several conflicting reports of whether bumblebee gobies are fw or bw. Some say bw is a common misconception, others swear that they need low end brackish. I'd really like to have this settled.

The species I'm asking about are:
Brachygobius nunus
Brachygobius xanthomelas
Brachygobius aggregatus

just a recap: will these species do best in bw or fw and is it okay to put 5 in a 10g species tank (not 5 of each in the same tank of course!)
 
did a little more digging and embarrassingly enough found a very similar thread with answers.

vampie said:
Easily the biggest myth about BBGs is that they need or prefer brackish water. They'll actually do equally well in either freshwater or brackish up to 1.005 SG, given that the water is on the hard and alkaline side. I personally keep my BBGs in freshwater, and have been doing so for a few years now.

I'd give them at least 2 gallons each. They do well in planted tanks, and use small caves as territories and spawning sites.

They'll gobble up any live foods that'll fit in their mouths, and most frozen foods should work as well. Among the staples I've used are live blackworms, frozen bloodworms, live and frozen brine shrimp and frozen mysis. I've found the first two to be a hit, while the others can be a hit or miss depending on the individual fish.
Click to expand...
 
Sounds good. I've heard they were territorial, but I wouldn't worry at all. I've heard a lot of things :nilly:


How much are they where you are?
 
I saw them for about $4-5 at an LFS but I'm at least 2 months away from even buying a dry tank to start cycling. Plenty of time to research and gather info. I'm probably going to end up buying them from Frank's Aquarium if my LFS stops carrying them...unless someone knows of another cheaper, reliable online retailer? I've never ordered fish online (only shrimp and snails) and I'd love some good references.

btw do the above answers apply to all 3 of the species I listed?
 
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good luck with the bbg's they are really cool just keep in mind that they arnt exactly the most exciting/active creatures in the world. b sure to get sand for them
 
Not a bad price. As for the species, well, I know nothing about them. I read something that said there were actually 9 species, and the kind with broken black bars didn't do well in FW, and the kind with solid black bars preffered FW. I've also heard from a lot of places (even local people) of tiny BB gobies that were terribly cheap and schooled... Frank's lists them (always out of stock though).
 
ah i was hoping he'd restock by the time i was ready to buy but if they're always out of stock... =/ The ones at my LFS have 4 solid black stripes but there's no way to tell if they'll still have them in stock 2 months from now.
 
I got my aggregatus from Frank about two years ago. I'm actually beginning to think he hasn't them restocked since...
 
sweet jeebus lol, maybe i'll just send him an email when im ready
 
5 is fine. I've caught some Brachygobius aggregatus in my local estuarine and placed them in my tank. Hard alkaline water should be good enough. Heck, you can put snails with them as well. They tend to be a little territorial but given sufficient number of hiding places, a 10g should be fine for 5.
 
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